I can't speak about the new hybrids that have been produced, but the old varieties that have been in the hobby for the last 30 or more years do quite well with low to moderate light (one to three watts of ordinary T-12 fluorescent light per gallon) and no additional CO2. They are not particularly fussy about high nutrient levels. if you keep the potassium level higher than zero and calcium & magnesium higher than about 20 ppm, even a low fish load provides the rest of the nutrients. They seem to be very good at getting iron. About all they need is a small amount of soil in the gravel. Any kind of commercial substrate that has iron already is more than adequate. MY experience has been with E. amazonicus, E. bleheri, E. bolivianus, E. martii, E. osiris, E. parviflorus and E. uruguayensis. All on my list except E. bolivianus are big and tend to take over a smaller tank entirely and a significant part of a larger tank. Oher plants that can live with them have to be tough, also.